Bryan Cox Jr.

Minor NFL Transactions: 7/29/22

Here are Friday’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

New England Patriots

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

  • Signed: DL Tomasi Laulile

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Signed as a UDFA shortly after the draft, Mevis fared rather poorly in a Thursday workout. The rookie kicker missed badly on three warmup kicks, one of which drilling ex-Cowboys HC Dave Campo (of Hard Knocks 2002 fame), per ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco. Mevis had struggled during the start of Jaguars camp. This is Fry’s seventh NFL team since he entered the league in 2019. The workout-circuit regular has played in three regular-season games — one-offs with the Falcons, Bengals and Chiefs. The Jags also have kicker Ryan Santoso on their roster.

A hamstring injury, sustained during a workout shortly after a flight to Green Bay, sidelined Watkins for the start of Packers camp. The veteran will try to shake a well-earned injury-prone label in Green Bay, though the former top-five pick’s roster spot may not be 100% secure. Andrews, who returned in 2020 after missing all of the 2019 season due to blood clots, underwent offseason shoulder surgery. He is back for a seventh season as the Patriots’ starting center.

Colts Add OL Jason Spriggs, DE Bryan Cox Jr.

Former Indiana Hoosiers standout Jason Spriggs will receive a chance in his home state. The Indiana native is signing with the Colts, Zak Keefer of The Athletic tweets. The Colts also signed defensive end Bryan Cox Jr., according to ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson (on Twitter).

Although Spriggs has not lived up to his second-round draft slot, he has provided depth for multiple teams since his Packers tenure ended. Spriggs worked as a backup for the Bears in 2020 and the Falcons last season.

The Packers drafted Spriggs 48th overall in 2016, trading up for the ex-Indiana All-American. Spriggs started four seasons, at tackle and guard, finishing his Hoosiers run as their right guard in 2015. He helped the Big Ten team produce two 1,000-yard rushers (Jordan Howard and Devine Redding) during his All-American senior year.

Green Bay used Spriggs as a starter nine times, primarily during a five-start 2017. But that season also featured two IR placements. A 2019 Spriggs back injury led to a season on Green Bay’s injured reserve; he left as a free agent in 2020. He played for the veteran minimum in each of the past two seasons. Spriggs, 28, started one game during his Bears and Falcons stays.

The Elkhart, Indiana, native stands to compete for a backup role in Indianapolis as well. The Colts are in an interesting place on their O-line, having seen longtime guard Mark Glowinski join the Giants in free agency. Left tackle Eric Fisher looks likely to be a Colts one-and-done, leaving two spots open. Danny Pinter and Matt Pryor are the favorites to fill those posts, respectively. The team did draft Central Michigan tackle Bernhard Raimann in Round 3, however.

Cox, 27, has not played since the 2020 season, but he worked out for the Colts at their minicamp this week. The second-generation NFLer has spent time with the Panthers, Browns and Bills — mostly as a backup. The team also waived defensive end Cullen Wick on Friday.

AFC Workouts: Vizcaino, Roberson, Cox

Here are a couple of free agents getting try outs around the AFC:

  • If free agent kicker Tristan Vizcaino is still unsigned after a busy week that entailed planned workouts with the Patriots and Raiders, the Ravens plan on bringing the 25-year-old in for their minicamp next week, according to Tom Pelissero. While the Ravens are obviously set with the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Justin Tucker, they made headlines years ago when they took 2018 undrafted free agent Kaare Vedvik and flipped him to Minnesota one year later for a fifth-round pick. General manager Eric DeCosta may be interested in working that same magic on Vizcaino.
  • Free agent pass rusher Derick Roberson has been working out with the Colts this week, according to Joel A. Erickson of the Indy Star. Roberson has made some noise in his very limited playing time in the NFL. As an undrafted rookie in 2019 with the Titans, Roberson totaled 3.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hits while only appearing in three games. After earning a start in 2020, Roberson appeared in five games last year, recording 1.5 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss, and 4 quarterback hits.
  • The Colts are also auditioning free agent defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. this week. Cox entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Panthers, appearing in 19 games over three years as a reserve defensive lineman. In 2019, Cox was waived by Carolina, signing with the Browns five days later. Cox saw his most successful stint in the NFL while in Cleveland, starting two of the six games he played for the Browns. In those six games, Cox recorded half a sack, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 5 quarterback hits. He signed with the Bills as a free agent last offseason but only appeared in one game after spending time on injured reserve with an Achilles injury.

Bills Release Andre Roberts, Trim Roster To 53

Here are the roster decisions the Bills made to move to the mandated 53-man regular-season limit.

Waived:

Released:

Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform:

The Bills signed Roberts to a two-year deal in 2019, doing so after he earned All-Pro recognition for his kick-return work on the 2018 Jets. Roberts has 10 years’ experience and two Pro Bowls on his resume. The second of those two Pro Bowl nods came last season with the Bills. Buffalo enters the season with its best chance to win the AFC East in maybe 20 years, so cutting an accomplished player is certainly surprising.

Foster made a splash as a rookie in 2018, but the Bills have overhauled their receiver group since. John Brown and Cole Beasley led the way last year, and the team traded for Stefon Diggs and drafted two wideouts — fourth-rounder Gabriel Davis and sixth-rounder Isaiah Hodgins — this year. Foster will nonetheless be an interest name on waivers.

Buffalo traded for Andre Smith earlier this week. The third-year linebacker could well be brought back on the team’s 16-player practice squad. Teams can begin assembling their P-squads Sunday.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/13/19

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

  • Promoted from practice squad: T Chandler Brewer, DB Donte Deayon

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Panthers Place Kawann Short On IR

Kawann Short‘s season is already over. On Tuesday, the Panthers placed the defensive lineman on injured reserve, per a club announcement. 

KK has done everything he could possibly do to try to play these past two games,” general manager Marty Hurney said in a statement. “But, we have made the decision that it is in the best long-term interest of KK and the team that he undergo surgery to fix his shoulder and focus on his rehab and get ready for next season.”

Short has suffered a partially torn rotator cuff, and those injuries are notoriously tricky to recover from. The surgery, hopefully, will allow short to bounce back in 2020, without the risk of aggravating the injury this year.

Short has been absent for the Panthers’ last two games and wasn’t looking like his usual self in the club’s first two games. It’s a frustrating setback for obvious reasons, but Short has been fairly lucky so far throughout his career – he did not miss a single game through his first five campaigns and missed just two last year.

Thanks to the monster five-year extension he inked in 2017, Short is under contract through the 2023 season. The Panthers, in reality, are only truly locked in with him through 2021: releasing Short in the offseason would saddle them with $17.35MM in dead money and they’d be looking at an $11MM/$9.8MM dead/savings split prior to the 2021 season. After that, there are two low-cost seasons slated for 2022 and 2023.

To take his place on the roster, the Panthers have promoted fellow DL Bryan Cox, Jr. from the practice squad. Cox, the son of three-time Pro Bowler Bryan Cox (duh), has appeared in 18 games for the Panthers over the last two seasons.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are 2-2 with back-to-back wins under the guidance of quarterback Kyle Allen. There’s still no word on when Cam Newton might be able to return.

Panthers Set 53-Man Roster

The Panthers have officially set their 53-man roster, and there are few major surprises on the list. One of the most notable names is running back Cameron Artis-Payne, who spent the past four years in Carolina. The team also moved on from fellow offensive veteran Aldrick Robinson, who finished last season with five touchdown receptions for the Vikings.

Otherwise, the other notable names include recent draft picks, like 2018 seventh-round wideout Terry Godwin and 2017 fifth-round cornerback Corn Elder.

The rest of the Panthers’ roster moves are below:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/Injured:

Placed on IR:

South Notes: Texans, Titans, Lewan, Panthers

While it’s still unclear exactly how the Texans will configure their offensive line in 2019, the front five does appear to be rounding into form. At recent practices, Matt Kalil has been taking first-team reps at left tackle while rookie first-round pick Tytus Howard plays left guard, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Zach Fulton is filling in at center for the injured Nick Martin, but once Martin returns, Fulton will continue to battle second-rounder Max Scharping for time at right guard, and the veteran holds the edge in that battle, per Wilson. Seantrel Henderson, who hasn’t started more than one game in a season since 2015, is the top man at right tackle. Houston’s offensive line was one of the NFL’s worst in 2018, ranking 27th in adjusted line yards and dead last in adjusted sack rate, per Football Outsiders.

Here’s more from the NFL’s two South divisions:

  • After suffering a fractured and dislocated ankle last September, Titans tight end Delanie Walker is working his way back to full strength. Walker expects to be ready for Week 1 of the regular season, and in excellent news, he’s likely to play in Tennessee’s second preseason contest, tweets Jim Wyatt of TitansOnline.com. The 35-year-old posted at least 60 receptions and 800 yards in each season from 2014-17, and he’s likely to be a featured part of the Titans offense once again in 2019. Signed to a two-year, $17MM extension last summer, Walker is under contract through 2020.
  • Panthers defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. was cited on Wednesday for speeding, possession of marijuana, and possession of paraphernalia, reports Blaine Tolison of WSOC (Twitter link). In a statement, the Panthers said they are aware of the incident and are working to gather information (Twitter link via Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic). Cos has appeared in 18 games for Carolina over the past two years, playing roughly 200 snaps in each season. In his latest roster projection, David Newton of ESPN.com left Cox off the Panthers’ 53-man squad.
  • Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan will formally appeal his four-game suspension on August 22, per Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com (Twitter link). Lewan was dealt a ban after violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, but he’s been adamant in his claims that he didn’t purposefully ingest a banned substance, and even took a polygraph test. However, as recent failed appeals by Golden Tate and Robert Quinn have shown, the NFL’s drug policy is extremely unforgiving.